49ers put Antoine Bethea on injured reserve, activate Jerome Simpson

Tartt suffered a leg contusion Thursday night and has 21 tackles and a sack thus far.

Safety Antoine Bethea’s season is over, leaving the 49ers’ embattled defense without one of its captains and most experienced players.

The injury occurred, not coincidentally, as Bethea was committing a defensive infraction while attempting to tackle Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin.

Instead, Bethea’s hand got caught on Baldwin’s face mark – a penalty – and jerked his own shoulder awkwardly. An MRI taken Friday revealed the damage. He was replaced by second-round pick Jaquiski Tartt, who also was injured but not seriously so.

“We had a few quarterback-driven runs up”. The 49ers have been held to single digits in the past three defeats in this suddenly one-sided rivalry, outscored 56-13.

Bethea, a 10-year veteran, sustained what the team initially announced as a shoulder injury late in the second quarter of the 49ers’ 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday. So much for the good news in the passing game.

Simpson could be a boost to the league’s 30th-ranked passing attack (185.4). “Things are going to happen that you’re going to disagree with, but we’ve got to keep ourselves under control”. Hyde said the injury hadn’t affected his performance in the 20-3 loss, during which he rushed 11 times for 40 yards, his second-lowest total of the season. The 49ers were so clueless in the running game, they couldn’t even figure out a way to get quarterback Colin Kaepernick a carry for the first time in his career. During his time with San Francisco, Bethea has registered four interceptions and 12 passes defensed and was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl.

Simpson received a roster exemption upon returning from a six-game suspension, and he was not activated to the 49ers’ game-day roster, according to the NFL’s transaction wire and confirmed by a team source. In 2013 while with the Vikings, he caught 48 passes for a career-high 726 yards (15.1 average) and one touchdown.

-SPECIAL TEAMS: B. If only every 49ers unit were so consistent. He made 44 tackles and a sack this year.

And Colin Kaepernick is still the man under center after another embarrassing flop against rival Seattle.